Inside Louis Vuitton's New High Jewelry Collection

One hundred ten pieces, one 30-carat black opal, one 31-carat emerald, and seven years. When you're taking in all the shine and sparkle of the singular pieces of the new Louis Vuitton Virtuosity High Jewelr y collection, numbers may seem beside the point. Beauty is the main objective here, non? But often, at this level of jewelry design, the crucial details are in the digits. "In this collection," a Vuitton gemologist tells T⁘C , "there is a necklace I am particularly proud of. It took us more than seven years to gather all the diamonds with the perfect combination of colors and sizes. It is the Eternal Sun necklace, which features a string of 27 yellow diamonds—extremely rare. They are a true miracle of nature. Today many gemological questions exist on this type of yellow Ib diamond (versus type Ia), which is created when a nitrogen atom lodges in the carbon's crystalline structure under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. These stones are so exceptional that even the Gemological Institute of America could not understand how there could be more than 20 of them." These are pieces, in other words, that are equal to the sum of their parts.

Another important figure here: 2008, the year Louis Vuitton launched High Jewelry. Since then collections have been inspired by themes as wide ranging as Joan of Arc, the deep sea, outer space, and this year's ode to craft and creativity. The aesthetic has evolved from a more classic translation of brand codes into a strong and singular lexicon defined by bold necklaces, innovative cutting techniques, and impressive and unexpected stones. There are diamonds, always, but there are also often enormous aquamarines and colored sapphires.

"Our choices," the gemologist says, "are inspired by a spirit of adventure and a love of vibrant colors, highly refractive crystals, and precisely cut stones. We are also continuously expanding our material and color palettes to include new and less familiar stones, including gems like Mexican opals or zircons, for example. The seemingly effortless result is achieved through extensive and meticulous work." Sometimes years and years of it. And so, the inevitable question: What comes first, the emerald or the necklace? "Our journey begins with the careful sourcing of stones."